Jonathan Glazer’s Birth and the Definition of Art-Horror — Philosophy in Film
Noël Carroll’s theory of “art-horror” lays out a structure for classifying works of horror in fiction. Specifically, he identifies the genre based on its intended effects on audiences. While his evaluation does accurately define characteristics of fictions that lie at the “core” of the genre, his theory is not without fault. An interesting test case is Jonathan Glazer’s (2004), in which a woman encounters a young boy, Sean, who claims to be her dead husband. Though the film meets many of the requirements of a horror film laid out by Carroll, it does not reflect the basic intention that delineates horror from other genres. While Sean does fit Carroll’s definition of a monster, and Birth ‘s narrative also fits the complex discovery plot structure, it is problematic to consider the film to be part of the horror genre due to the clear lack of intention to arouse “art-horror” in the audience on the part of the filmmaker, effectively weakening the applicability of Carroll’s theory.
In Jonathan Glazer’s Birth, a 10-year-old Sean intrudes on a party in order to speak to the protagonist of the film, Anna. He proceeds to tell her that he is the reincarnation of her husband, also named Sean, who died ten years prior. Though she and her family initially dismiss the boy, young Sean persists and eventually persuades Anna by…
